I wasn’t sure what to expect as I entered the town hall meeting at Benbrook Middle High on Monday evening. Town hall meetings tend to bring out the worst in some people as tempers flare, passionate pleas are made, and dissenting opinions are challenged. In these divisive times, I feared this particular town hall meeting had the potential of being one of the ugliest. But, as it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised with the civil discourse that took place surrounding the hot-button issue of the large bond package and the “penny swap” proposal.
The meeting started with a few introductions and a video presentation (the same video presentation seen here). Shortly after the video concluded, Superintendent Dr. Kent Scribner was introduced and began his 25-minute (ish) presentation about the proposed bond package and penny swap. Dr. Scribner made what seemed to be a compelling case for the bond proposal as he clearly laid out the vision of the school district, the challenges the school district faces, and the solutions that the bond package would help provide. I believe Scribner and his team did a great job anticipating many objections to the proposed bond and preparing meticulous and helpful responses to each.
After Scribner concluded his presentation, the floor was opened for Q&A. At this moment, I expected a certain amount of vitriol to change the room’s atmosphere. But such vitriol never appeared. To be sure, many in attendance opposed the $750 million bond, though the loudest applause was for one particular resident who voiced her whole-hearted support in favor of it. However, the voices of the opposition were able to make their case in an equally compelling manner using facts, figures, and an appropriate amount of historical and emotional pleas without falling into personal attacks and nonsensical tirades. All in all, I would say the people of Benbrook on both sides of the issue showed themselves to be very thoughtful, sincerely concerned, and able to articulate their feelings on the matter respectably.
In fact, the major takeaway from the evening (for me, at least) was the overwhelming sense of pride for this great community. “Benbrook pride” was cited multiple times throughout the evening and all in attendance could sense the pro-Benbrook commonality in the room despite the potentially polarizing topic at hand. Even the Superintendent acknowledged the obvious by saying, “There is a sense of community in Benbrook that is palpable and powerful. A heartbeat exists here that doesn’t exist in other places. You should be proud of it.”
“There is a sense of community in Benbrook that is palpable and powerful. There is a heartbeat that exists here that doesn’t exist in other places. You should be proud of it.”
And though I left the auditorium that evening still undecided about how I’d vote (though I am leaning towards voting in favor), the one thing I was sure of was the decision to move my family into such a great community where people aren’t afraid to display and strive for civic pride.
